Iron Girl
by MarinaWrites
Summary: Book one of three ; Lara Stark is the one and only daughter of the one and only Tony Stark, the self professed billionaire, playboy, philanthropist. she's like her dad in more ways that just personality and looks, the ARC reactor keeping shrapnel from severing her spinal cord and rendering her paralysed for one. Now Lara has to juggle her social life along with being a superhero
1. Chapter 1

Ok, so I write a series of books called The League Of Extraordinary Teenagers, and this is the first saga of the series. the second is I Am Expendable, and you can reed the rest on my Wattpad Account; DamonSalvatoresGirl.

I really enjoy writing this book!

Everything belongs to Marvel, shame because lets be honest Tony Stark is a BAMF

please review or whatever!

...

**Iron Girl**

Everyone knows Tony Stark, billionaire owner of Stark Industries; playboy and technology genius entered MIT at 15, and went on to inherit the company after his father's death.

The only girl he ever loved left him and two years later the news came of her death, breast cancer. A few weeks after that came a call from social services. Melanie King had a daughter, and Tony Stark was the name on the birth certificate of Lara Stark.

Of course he had to take her, he rolled his eyes and grit his teeth but he remembered the way Melanie had always tried to see the glass half full.

He had nannies for her but somehow she would usually end up in an office at the Stark Industries headquarters watching him work. As she grew older, she grew more and more like him, arrogant, selfish and maybe just a little bit sarcastic, just a little.

She even looked like Tony, with pale skin, dark hair and dark eyes, there was hardly any trace of her mother in her, and she was fully a Stark.

…Las Vegas - Caesar's Palace Casino and Hotel…..

A video started on the two screens either side of the stage, I sat at a round table complete with centre piece and champagne flutes, in a custom made Christian Dior red hi low dress and silver platform Louboutins . It rattled off some facts about my Dad, American pioneer, genius, first circuit at 4, first engine at 10, MIT at 15, the list is endless. It shows newspaper headlines about the death of my grandparents, before I ever met them. Then it tells us how at 21, Tony Stark inherited Stark Industries, then a few magazine shoots of him at 24, introducing 2 year old me to the world. There was a picture that got a few 'awww's from the audience, a power shot of my dad in a sharply cut black suit, white shirt and black tie looking straight ahead at the camera, then white boxes piled up like a tower next to him stood me, in patent black Mary Janes, miniature white shirt, black bowtie and black pinafore with white frilly socks staring ahead like my dad, the boxed making me on a level with him. I smile a little. There was another shot of us, when I was 12, for US Weekly, My dad looked straight ahead, dark eyes at the camera in his famous power stance, wearing of course, another suit. I wore a studded black leather jacket, black leather leggings, beaten up red converse and a sex pistols t shirt, had my arms folded and I was leaning against him, lopsidedly grinning.

'Lara inspires my creativity' said the headline; I blushed a little, then stopped and frowned, since there was still an empty chair at our table. I turned round and Obadiah caught my eye, one of my grandfather's oldest friend and the one who basically ran the company, my dad was the crazy genious, Obadiah was the man who smoothed everything over, he grinned at me and I smiled a little back, he had always creeped me out, even though he was like a father to me dad, I had never trusted him.

The video stopped and a speech was made by one of my dad's friends Rhodey, calling him a patriot and saying "it is a great pleasure to present this Apogee Award to my friend and great mentor Tony Stark" There was more applause, but nobody stood up to take the award.

The applause still went strong, and Rhodey caught my eyes, I shook my head. Obadiah nudged me, I curled my lip. I got up from the table to a few 'ooohs' I took the award from Rhodey "Lara Stark, everyone!" He said, leaving me alone on the stage. I rolled my eyes; dad was probably out having fun.

"Well, I'm not my dad, but I know he's as honoured as me to receive this amazing award, which mean a, erm, means a lot to him, he's very sorry he couldn't make it tonight, but I hope you all don't mind that I am here to accept the award on his behalf and on the behalf of Stark Industries, thank you!" applause goes up, the Stark table stands up to applaud, as I sashay my way back off the stage, long train of my red dress trailing behind me, but the short front showing off my legs, long and pale, but more importantly, my $500 shoes. I put the award back on the table.

"He is so dead! He is the one who made me come! I was supposed to stay home with Pepper Potts! I have a maths test!" I say, Obadiah calms me

"Lara, we're leaving now, it's going to be fine." He soothes

"I'm going now." I storm out of the hall , through other nominees for Apogee Awards, reporter;s cameras flash is I walk by.

In the main casino, I can hear my father's loud, raucous laughter, in a crowd of girls probably only a few years younger than me. Oh don't worry, I'm not all hung up on the idea off my Daddy and Mommy being married forever and ever. My Mom is dead, she isn't coming back, nothing I can do will change it. But it is annoying when he sleeps with people when I'm in the Malibu house with him. I forget we're meant to be flying to Afghanistan soon.

"Oh well, if it isn't my Daddy." I stroll up

He's a little drunk "My beautiful daughter Lara! Isn't she stunner! Honey, come over, have a razzle of the dice!" he guides me into the crowd, the part for me, his brown eyes, the same as mine, were bright and excited, the bimbos all grinned manically. "Yeah, I have maths midterm tomorrow, so I'm going to fly back to Malibu on the jet, are you coming or do you have plans here, with your, er, new friends?" I ask, raising my eyebrows

Obadiah works his way through the crowds to us. My dad sobers up real fast. "Yeah, sure. On my way." He says, as he leaves the table and his admirers, to walk out. Butlers and waiters all say goodnight 'sire, madam' and other crap to us, some even bow, offering more complimentary crap.

"Oh, by the way, you won an award. They made a video."

"A video? Really? They're pulling out all the stops this year." He mused, as we go out to the stuffy, humid Las Vegas night.

"Would've been awesome if you were actually there, so I didn't have to get up there in front of all those people to accept it for you."

"Lara, you need to get over this stage fright crap."

"You need to get over yourself. And I _do not have stage fright."_

"Yes you do!" He retaliated as we walked to the limo

"Mr Stark? I'm working for Vanity Fair, I was hoping to ask you a few questions…" A buxom blonde, pretty girl asked us. I sigh. I want to go home and actually study. Or build something in the workshop. Or find an awesome present for PepperPotts, my dad's assistant who had been with us since when I first came to live with my dad, she was awesome, the best mom ever.

….The Next Day, 3:10 PM…

"So, Lara, will you come to my pool party on Saturday? It's going to be totally awesome and everyone's going to be there…"

"Well, everyone's not going to be there, since I'm not" Lara snapped back and the pretty blonde girl with green eyes. Her face fell as they all strutted out of school; flocked by about ten people Lara didn't even know the names of.

"hey Lara, you were so cool at that awards ceremony in Las Vegas last night" someone calls.

I remember it fondly and how tired I was, having not slept at all on the private jet back to Malibu.

"But anyone who's anyone is going" the girl tried to clutch on to the dregs of popularity.

"We're all going Lara; you never come out anymore…" A brunette said sadly from somewhere to my left.

"I'm going to Afghanistan with my dad, we have some stuff to do with the army" I replied as nonchalantly as I could, this was supposed to be top secret. As a few people split off to get school buses, I walked to my custom baby pink Porsche followed by five people. The stood around and gawped as I put on my gold framed teardrop Ray Bans and unlock the car and press the button which makes the door spin upwards, climb inside the cream leather interior and press the engine start button, the sweet purr of the engine and the swooping motion of the roof folding back and the door spinning down. I connected my white iPod touch into the dock and One of Those Girls by Avril Lavigne started to play on my 'Friday' playlist.

"Move, now." I commanded, and the brain dead teenagers all scrambled as I sped away from school, cutting off 3 busses , they honked angrily and I gave them a one finger salute and pulled on to the highway.

"Jesus I'm such a failure" I whisper to myself as she thought of the B I got on her maths test this morning, thanks to the Apogee Awards in Las Vegas, I managed to crawl into bed at 3 AM . I was 17, my dad was at MIT at 15 and so far all I had managed to do was outwit a few teachers.

I drove fast and was soon way out of town and near the cliff top mansion I shared with my dad.

I pulled into the drive after having the electronic gates open for me getting out of the car, the door swooped down after me. I clatter up the front steps to the huge overhanging mansion with the view of the Malibu Beach . I entered the security password and slammed the glass front door behind me, which made absolutely no satisfying effect whatsoever as practically the whole mansion was made of glass anyway. Glass and chrome and the occasional palm tree.

"Hello house! Hi daddy, how are you? I'm great, I had a fantastic day at school today, I turned down three parties because I am _so_ excited about our trip to Afghanistan, and now all those people that think that I like them are starting to hate me because even though they think I'm popular I have no social life and it's totally awesome, you're such a great dad you're always there to listen to me and oh my god, did I mention how much I love you?" I prattled on through the empty house, throwing my Prada satchel down on the kitchen floor, my sunglasses on the glass dining room table and my J Crew jacket on the white leather sofa.

"And then Jennifer said to Ashley 'you looked so fat in that bikini last week at the beach, don't you think so Lara?' and I was like, 'hey, I got a B in my test, I need to concentrate' and they were all like 'why, you get A's in everything, you still have half a semester' and I was like 'hm yeah but I'm never going to compare to my dad, did you know he was at MIT at 15?' and they completely didn't care, it was so awesome. Tell me again why I have to go to school."

"Because it's good for social skills" A voice came from behind her, pepperpots, my dad's assistant. She had practically raised me, and my father, she'd obviously just roused my father from his workshop downstairs and got rid of the bimbo. "now, go pack quickly, we're already 3 hours late because apparently your school don't like that its important students having leaving early to go to Afghanistan airbases. I had a very angry phonecall with your administration lady" Pepperpotts explained

I didn't reply, I just ran inside and up the suspended chrome curving staircase and into my large room complete with bathroom and pink Macbook.

Iflung open the sliding door of her walk in closet and took the smallest of my Louis Vuitton personalized 'LS' brown leather suitcases and flung it on the floor. Ipiled underwear and socks, pausing before adding denim cut off shorts, low top converse and Ralph Lauren Polo shirts. I added an apparel hoody to be on the safe side. I flung in her Chanel makeup case for good luck. I changed into black leggings, a vintage the Runaways band t shirt and a leather jacket, zipped the suitcase and dragged it back downstairs to find dad waiting by the front doors, holding her sparkly pink iPhone. "I may give you this back now." He mused, swinging the phone between his fingers. I pretended not to be bothered and tried to stop herself lunging for the phone. "Do what you want, you're paying for it."

"Catch" he said, and flung the phone atme. I caught it one handed."Impressive" he mused as he walked down the steps and into his red Ferrari, he opened the trunk with the click of a button and I added my suitcase next to his. I got in the remaining seat of the car and found some old headphones in the glove compartment. She plugged them into her phone and proceeded to ignore her dad and muse about how she forgot her sunglasses. She'd buy more at the airport.

…..Kunar Province, Afghanistan….

Well so far, she was bored and Afghanistan sucked major ass. It was so boring. She knew Military bases were not going to be a hub of social activity, but come on.

Afghanistan was dry and dusty, and right now she was in a white tank top and light denim shorts and her new ray bans, wishing she hadn't snapped her headphones. She was sat next to her dad looking out the window of an armoured army truck, with soldiers all sat in silence listening to AC/DC on some shitty radio on the floor.

The ice in her dad's glass of brandy rattled. A young soldier, probably only a year older than her, looked at her nervously across her dad. She raised an eyebrow as he nearly smiled. She sniffed and went back to staring straight ahead, at the seat in front of her, making a small 'ew'.

Her dad noticed, chewed his gum and turned round to look at the soldier in silence for a few minutes from behind his sunglasses. "I feel like I'm being driven to a court marshal. This is crazy, what did I do? Seriously I feel like you're going to pull over and shoot me. Are we not allowed to talk?" he said loudly. She rolled her eyes and pushed her sunglasses back up to keep her hair out of her face. "Hey, Forrest." He got the attention of the guy that had tried smiling at me a few minutes ago.

"You can talk, sir" he said in a voice not indifferent from a robot.

"Oh, I see, so it's personal" he said. She saw where her dad was coming from, it had been stony silence since about five minutes into the journey.

"No, you intimidate them" the driver said

"good god you're a woman. I honestly couldn't have called that." He said, scrutinizing the female driver. "I'd apologize but isn't that what we're going for here? I thought of you as a soldier first."

"I'm an airman" the woman said.

"Well you actually have excellent bone structure, I'm having a hard time not looking at you now, is that weird?"

"Yes, very" Lara moaned into her hand very quietly. She cringed at her dad. Obviously not quietly enough as everyone laughed.

"Hey it's ok! Laugh!" her dad said loudly.

"Sir, I actually have a question" the man in the front seat next to the driver looked at her dad.

"Yes, of course, please" He opened questions

"Is it true you went twelve on twelve with last year's cover models?"

"That is an excellent question. Yes and no because we had a scheduling conflict but it evened out because for Christmas it was twins" he made some kind of joke about work that I didn't get, I just liked the rocket's circuit base and titanium alloy builds. "Anything else?" He asked

The guy that got referred two as forest actually raised his hand. "You're kidding me with the hand up, right?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. He shrugged.

"is it cool if I take a picture with you?"

"Yes, that is very cool" Tony said, removing his sunglasses. Lara groaned.

Then the guy pulled a camera out of his bag and handed it to the guy in the front seat. Lara was pulled into the picture by her dad. "I don't want to see this on your myspace page. And please, no gang signs." He said, as the guy pulled the peace sign. _So lame._ "Oh go ahead throw it up there. I love peace, I would be out of a job if there was peace." He smiles, I pulled my infamous lobsided grin as the truck in front of us blew up.

…..

And I don't mean it got a flat or the engine backfired, the thing hit a landmine and blew up. The whole road seemed to shake. My dad threw his arm across me to stop me from flying forward and the woman driving shouted as she tried to stop. "What's going on?" my dad asked, for once sounding shaken. As the lady got out of the truck, she was shot down. I let out a small scream. "Jimmy, stay with the Starks!" the front seat guy said , as he climbed out of the car, my eyes went wide as he climbed down from the truck and tried to stay low and use it as cover.

"Stay down!" Forest shouted, my dad pulled me down first and I hid behind him. I said without thinking ; "That pool party is starting to sound really, _really_ fun right now" then front seat guy was shot with an ear splitting bang.

"Son of a bitch!" Forest shouted, he got up and got out of the car, leaving us. "Hey hey hey! Wait! Give me a gun!" my dad shouted to him, but Forest just turned round and shouted "stay here!" at us through the window.

"Yeah because I'm just on my way to Target" I roll my eyes at the stupidity of the whole damn world and tried not to think of the two dead people outside and the blown up truck in front of us. Then and even bigger blast sent my head spinning back and hitting the hard plastic seat, successfully killing Forest. "are you ok?" my dad asked, sounding really scared.

"not really" I said, blinking away the stars from my eyes. He helped me sit up. A blast of fire from nowhere sent my ears buzzing and eyes spinning again, my head throbbed painfully, radiating through my whole body. By dad seemed dazed too, but he grabbed my arm tight and pulled me out of the truck. I stumbled through the dust and smoke and just general dizziness and tried to follow him. He ran behind a rock and I stumbled after him. He pulled out his Stark phone and typed frantically. I coughed. "Daddy, you're going to freaking kill us one day."

Then the Stark Industries rocket landed right next to us. "shit" I say, and we both try and run through the deep sand.

I don't really feel anything , I just hear a deafening noise and then nothing, I can barely feel my face hit the soil. Pure adrenaline helps me crawl to my dad's side, and my blurry vision can just make out him pulling open his shirt to reveal a damaged bullet proof vest, the same Stark industries model he forced me to wear today as well, only his has blood oozing from it. "Daddy?" I whisper as a piece of shrapnel hits me in the side of the head and I pass out.

…

Being wrenched back into blinding light is never a good thing, especially Monday mornings. Being pulled into blinding light from having a dark sack over your head, I can guarantee, is much worse.

I look over and see my dad being tied to a chair, then I realise my hands are already bound to one.

"Lara?" he shouts

"Dad!" I yell back, ears still ringing. Then I see the men with guns surrounding us. Today was not my day.

…..

The next time I wake up, I'm face down on a smelly, thin camp bed. From what I can make out, I'm in a cave. Oh wow, things just keep getting better. I let out a groan, my back stings. "Lara?"

"Err, Dad?" I call back, my throat it dry and crackly.

"What did you do to her?" my dad asked viciously.

"Lara? The same as I did to you, only to her spinal cord." A british voice said.

"Ok this is really scary what the hell is going on?" I ask, flipping my head round to where the voices are coming from, my neck feels oddly disconnected. My dad is stood up with a skinny oldish man.

My dad has some metal thing in him. "Holy shit Al Qaeda turned you into a droid I knew it, shit I'm so screwed." I cry into the mattress. Huge bangs and shouts come from behind a metal door, the man runs to me and helps me up, my dad helps him, shit my back hurts like a bitch. The man slips a jacket round my shoulders. "Quickly, we must hide you" The guy isn't British, he's like, German or something. But before we can hide the man has made us put our hands behind our heads as three men burst in. "those are my guns, how did he get my guns?" my dad said angrily. Is this really the time? a gun is a gun. Though it is a little troubling, Stark Industries only sold to specific countries, and I'm pretty sure Afghanistani rebels were not on the list. So, we had been kidnapped, my dad had something in his chest that was creeping me out a whole lot more than I let out, and I couldn't really feel my legs, now that I thought about it.


	2. Chapter 2

I think my legs have stopped supporting me, because my dad's grip seems to be awfully tight, and he looks at my back to some place I can't see in much the same way I look at his chest, which is unnerving.

I have to lean against my dad with no hands, as the German man who is with us, who my dad seems to trust, tells us to put our hands above our heads. My arms feel really heavy, and I have no balance, I keel backwards into my dad, but he doesn't fold and helps me stand upright, still keeping his arms above his head. I really want to cry, because this is _so_ not happening to me right now.

Around 15 Afghanistan men stand in front of us, and boy they do not look friendly. But the one that seems to be the leader is smiling in an overly creepy way, the smile a serial killer rapist psycho would give you before killing you or luring a kid into his van for out of date Twinkies. He starts talking in a language I can only assume to be whatever they speak here, I have no clue what he's saying but I can bet you a thousand bucks I won't like it.

Oh hey, he just said something like blah blah blah mumbo jumbo "Mr Tony Stark and Miss Lara Stark." Then back to blah blah. Then he made a gesture at the German guy that turned my dad into the bionic man, as if waiting for him to do something, please may it not be to kill us.

Apparently it was to translate, "He says welcome Tony and Lara Stark, the most famous mass murderers in the history of America." What?! Ok, that's not, not anything. I don't even know how to understand what he's just said. And I can't move my neck so I can't ask Dad what to do with this either.

The leader starts talking again, shorter this time, then the friendly German translated. "He is honoured." Well great but me and my Dad are _not_ mass murderers and yeah I'd really like to go now. But know, he started jabbering on again.

"He wants you to build them the Jericho missile that you demonstrated."

The leader says something again and wafts around a dirty scrap of paper, and then hands it to the German. "This one." The German says quietly, I dart my eyes to the black and white photograph of our newest Jericho missile, one which I spent a week of my spring vacation helping to sketch, plan and build with my dad, one of the most deadly.

Something which I was once proud of, now, I'm kinda scared of myself, on top of everything else I'm scared of in this present situation. I chant 'crap, crap, crap' as quietly as I can to stop myself from completely breaking down.

"I refuse." My dad said when utter chaos, or something close to it, went down, he was grabbed right from behind me but I managed to balance, and dragged shouting over to a deep bucket of water, "Daddy!" I screamed out, but it came out more like a strangled cat shriek, but that was it, I couldn't seem to stop so I had to just keep screaming, before a guard with perfect dark skin, dark eyes and a smooth bald head grabbed me from behind, which was good because I think I was about to fall anyway, and clamped his hand down over my mouth, which wasn't so great because I mean, ew germs, but I still didn't stop shrieking for my Daddy.

Then another rough sack was thrown over my head and I was dragged away. The sack is pulled off my head and after I shake my hair back off my ace, I have to blink a lot to get used to the blisteringly bright sunlight.

We're stood on a ridge, and the dark place I've been for I don't know how long is actually a real life desert cave. Below us is a camp with random men lurking around.

My dad is clutching a box that has a wire leading to his…. Thing. I wonder why I don't have one if the same thing's been done to me? But I don't know, it's not like I can see my back, so I could have anything on there. I get pushed to go down the hill to the camp and managed to run forward and catch up with my dad. He grips my elbow tight as we walk down the path "Don't say anything, let me handle it." He whispered to me. I nodded, biting my lip.

We are led by the men and the leader of them to a small shelter, underneath the cloth over the top in boxes and boxes of Stark Industries stamped boxes. "He asks what you think." The man interprets, the leader smiles proudly.

"I think you have a lot of my weapons." My dad said evenly.

The leader rants in his own language.

"He said they have everything you need to build the Jericho missile." German translated "He wants you to make a list of the materials you need."

The leader says something else. "He says you are to stark work immediately, and when you are done, he will set you both free."

Oh my God, so we're trapped here in this hell making weapons for terrorists and we can't leave.

My dad shook his hand. I knew it was coming, what else was there for him to do?

….

"They will be looking for you, but they won't find you here. This here is your legacy. Your _life's work_ in the hands of those _murderers_? Is this how you're going to go out? Is this the last act of defiance from the great Starks?!" It was dark and cold in the cave at night, and we were sat round a fire. The German was trying to get my dad to, I don't know, do something. But that was the first time someone hasn't either dismissed me completely or compared me to my dad, now we're equals, in this squalid cave. I look at the piece of metal in his chest. An electromagnet attached to a car battery, keeping shrapnel out of his heart. I haven't looked at my back, something tells me I don't want too, but I'm naturally curious. There's no bathroom here as far as I can tell, and the tiny rusty mirror can just about fit my nose into it.

"I shouldn't do anything about it, they're going to kill me, you and Lara either way, and if they don't we'll be dead in a week."

"Well this is a very important week for you both isn't it?" He asked. My dad looked up at me over the fire.

….The Next Day…

"If this is going to be our work station it needs to be well lit. I want helmets, goggles, soldering irons, Precision cutters. Lara, anything else?" My dad yelled, it was busy and the German I could now call a friend was translating everything

"We have no Jarvis this time, so we'll need pencils rulers, paper and tracing paper to plan, lots of space, a heat source." I say. I feel like I could do something now, try and save myself.

…Next day…..

The work station was complete within a day, and we started working this morning getting everything ready, I drew up a plan for the Jericho rocket from memory roughly. What else I drew out of the view of the cameras was completely irrelevant, stupid, reckless and just what we needed. The small corner invisible to the cameras was where I sat now. "Hey, Dad, can you take a look at something for a sec?" I asked

"Yeah sure." He wandered over and looked at my detailed, careful drawing, each part on a piece of tracing paper that when place over each other would reveal. "It'll do the job." I said.

He nodded. "It's perfect." He said.

He pulled one of the earlier rockets, ones that had basically the same parts as the Jericho, but a few special ones we needed for our, er…_ real_ project.

…..

The missile lies on the table as I take apart the outer casing from one end, and my dad takes out the inside circuits, explosives and stuff from the other end. "Who are these people?" I ask, looking at the security camera's red light. "These people are your loyal customers." The german said. "They call themselves the Ten Rings."

"Cool." I said, and went back to work with my screwdriver.

My dad calls me over to help with the insides of the rocket, pulling out the core, then taking it apart.

"The process might be more productive if you included me in your planning process." Me and my dad both stare at him. No way. He's nice and he saved our lives and all, but this is _my_ invention.

"Move." I said to my dad, I take a pair of tweezers and carefully pull free the piece we need. "Don't need this." I said, throwing the rest of the useless core behind me.

"What is that?" the German, who I was starting to doubt even _was_ German, asked

"Palladium, 0.5 grams. We need at least 1.6, so why don't you both go break down the other 11?" I asked them, or told them, both

"Are you sure about that? Because the B in your calculus midterm suggests you may be mistaken." My dad's eyes glitter wickedly. I purse my lips.

"I'm sure, ok? How did you know about the midterm?"

"Potts told me."

"I didn't tell Potts about it."

"I know, your principal did."

"Crap. Well, anyway, I'm right, so go away and get me my 1.6 grams of palladium."

For the next day and a half, they both get the 1.6 grams, make a mould and melt it down. As the mystery man helping us carries the melted palladium in a metal pot, in a pair of pincers to the mould. I followed him anxiously, as did my dad.

"Be careful, we only have one shot." I said

"Don't worry I have steady hands." He said, gently pouring the molten metal into the mould delicately.

"What do they call you?" My dad asked

"My name is Yinsen." Well, Yinsen said.

"Nice to meet you." Me and dad both said in unison

…..

My dad soldered and welded and melted for days and days, before finally he flipped a switch and the creation that would hopefully save us all glowed bright blue with power.

"That doesn't look like a Jericho Missile." Yinsen said

"That's because it's a miniaturised ARC reactor." Dad said. Just like my plan. We needed to move fast, nearly a month had passed since the day of the ambush. "I have a big one powering my factory at home. It should keep the shrapnel out of my heart."

"That's incredible, what could it generate?" Yinsen asked, I answered

"3 gigajoules, if my math is right." My dad gave me a look "Which it _always is." _

"That could power the magnet for over 50 lifetimes!" Yinsen said

"Or something big for 15 minutes." I said, I was going to include Yinsen because desperate times called for desperate measures.

My dad led him over to the small table where my delicate, detailed planning paper lay. He placed it all down. "what is it?" Yinsen asked

"Our ticket out of here." I said, pressing down the paper to show him the full suit.

"Impressive." He said

"I know."

…..

The ARC reactor was now in place and seemed to be working. My dad and Yinsen now say playing a board game. I was stood up trying to turn my neck to look at the electro magnet in my back, and more importantly its power source. If my dad's needed to be replaced, what about mine?

"Lara, for the last time, you are not an owl." He called over

"Well sorry for wanting to know what's keeping me from paralysis!" I snapped back. I hated _everyone_ today. He rolled his eyes

"Feel it." Yinsen said. I bit my lip and started off at the base of my spine. I ran my hand over scratched skin, scabs and then my eyes started to water as the felt a flap of flesh, then metal that hummed with electricity, then another flap of open skin then more back. I carried on up the smooth metal as far as I could go, before I had to go over my shoulder, the skin that had been slit for the metal came to a close at the base of my neck, the metal travelled on for a few more millimetres under the skin and did the same at the bottom. I whirl round to find both Yinsen and my dad watching me. Expressions blank "I'm a robot!" I gawp at them

My dad raises an eyebrow before returning to the game, Yinsen sheepishly follows him. "So, you have a family?" my dad asked

"Yes. I will be seeing them soon." I resist the urge to snort, because a big swell of sadness is creeping up my stomach

"Do you? A wife, more children?" Yinsen asks, I snort and look at my dad.

"My Mom has been dead for over 16 years." I said.

"So you're people who have everything, and nothing." It was a statement, not a question. I watch my dad's reaction slowly, he pulls a half smile. Hmm, well if he'd only just stop being such a playboy and actually admit he liked Potts. And she'd admit she liked him.

….One Month Later….

We had welded and created all the internal mechanics, right now I was at the welding station welding a joint of the arm. As the heat blazed from the tool and the goggles steamed up slightly, I wished for a shower, my hair was the most vile and disgusting mess I had ever seen, I put it in a tight braid one week after we arrived, but it still felt horrible, I change of clothes which included underwear. Since it was hot in the cave when the welder and the fire were being used, I had maintained that I was too hot, so ripping bits of my clothes was completely justified, and I prayed to the good lord baby Jesus that none of them knew what I was _actually_ doing with the strips of cloth, one thing to remember; girls do not make good kidnap victims over a one month period, shit gets messy.

My dad was sat on the side of the bench with the leg piece on, testing the joint, it looked amazing.

There were bangs from outside . This wasn't a food delivery, they were usually quick and quiet, hunks of bread, rice and beans flung through the door.

Dad pulled off the leg armour and we hid everything hastily as about 30 men burst through the door with guns, one man came through the centre, the bald one who had dragged me to see the weapons stash nearly two months ago.

It would be nice to say I severely disliked him.

I flung my hands in the air, very aware of the face that my now ripped off t shirt was exposing rather a lot of midriff. But I think I prefer flashing a bit of bellybutton than getting shot at. "Relax." The bald man said in english

I put my arms down slowly, and I got goose bumps on my neck from the way he looked me up and down, like seriously, gross dude.

He walked over to my dad and pulled down his shirt to reveal the ARC reactor. "The bow and arrow was once the pinnacle of weapons technology. It allowed the great Genghis Khan to rule from the pacific to Ukraine." He walked over to a work bench and moseyed around the things on there; I panicked and tried to remember where everything had been hidden. "An empire twice the size of Alexander the Great's and four times the size of the Roman Empire." He walked to another bench

_No._ I though desperately, the plans were still on there! My dad looked at me as he picked them up, I bit my lip and shook my head in dismay, hands clenched into fists. I was so stupid.

"But now, whoever owns the latest Stark technology rules these lands, and soon, it will be my turn." He turned around to face us. He put the plans back on the table, a little ray of hope that he hadn't pressed the papers together to see the full suit still remained.


	3. Chapter 3

The bald man stalked around my dad for a few seconds, and I had never seen my dad look so…worried about something in my whole life. It was so scary, but everything was these days. I felt my lips begin to quiver but I pressed them together and held firm, I _would not_ cry anymore. I could not change anything here, I had to be at home, and right now these men, these complete savages were using my own weapons against me, weapons I had designed with my dad without even fully understanding what they did, what they _really _did, which was kill. Take lives. And I'll be damned if one of my own dad's bombs blows up in our face.

Looking deep into my dad's eyes, the man said something in a language I didn't understand, and Yinsen answered, they went back and forth like this a few times.

Two men acting as guards rushed forwards, and Yinsen was pulled to his knees. My hands clenched into tighter fists, and I thought about home. About how I'd get home and Pepper would be waiting for me, and she'd hug my dad and they'd get together and be happy. I'd see Brody again, the only person who I'd ever really trusted enough to be my friend, he had curly, sandy coloured hair and sea green eyes, he surfed on the beach, and he'd use binoculars to look up at my bedroom, way up on the cliff, I'd get JARVIS to zoom in on him, we'd wave to each other. We'd talk at school and hang out, and two weekends before this, he'd kissed me. I'd die before making that the last time I'd ever see him.

The bald leader stoked the red hot coals, as he exchanged more words in the language they were speaking, my dad looked at me nervously, what could we do, if anything?

Then the leader turned back around, with the metal pincers we had used to make the palladium ring for the arc reactor, in them he held a glowing red, smoking piece of coal. He forced Yinsen's head down onto the vice. "What does he want?" My dad asked, stepping forward, but the fifteen guards pulled out guns and yelled, I stood stock still, I couldn't even breathe. Yinsen said more things to the leader, the leader said more things back, but he came closer with the glowing coal.

"We need him!" I yelled, finally gasping a breath. Everyone turned to me. "He's a good assistant." I mumbled, looking down.

"You have until tomorrow to assemble my missile." The leader said, dropping the hot coal inches from Yinsen's head. They left.

"We have to do something about that door." Dad said.

"I got it covered." I said, an idea had just struck me after staring at the two tiny gas canisters for so long. Yinsen and Dad worked tirelessly welding and shaping the rest of the armour, I had done most of the fine mechanics of the suit. I plugged two pieces of wire around the doorframe, "This door opens, and boom." I said

"I'm not really liking that whole murderous look you have going on" Dad said, I looked at him "Yeah, that one, it's not really a good look for…well…anyone."

"I'm not dying here, dad." I said

"I know, it's just I'm not really all hyped up about you killing here, either."

I rolled my eyes and walked back over. "Are you ready?" I asked, as he put on the jacket he used for welding in, along with the gloves. Yinsen attached the chest piece to a pully to fit it on.

Around half an hour later, the door blew. "That's our cue." I said. Now it was time to get into my suit. Now I know what you're thinking, two suits? It that not a bit extreme? No wonder it took you three months, but my suit was smaller and purely for protection, Dad's suit had all the explosives, flame throwers and jet packs in it, mine was just bullet proof.

That was why dad's needed to be connected to a laptop, as I was clambering into the hard, hot metal, Yinsen was completely failing at computer programming, I relayed the buttons he had to press to him, "There isn't enough time!" He said, as more guards could be heard thundering through the cave towards us. The tiny green bar on the screen was only half full, and moving at a snail's pace. I bit my lip. "I'm going to buy us more time." Yinsen said, running out of the room, gunshots could be heard and lots of shouts, then silence.

"There goes the plan." I said

"Let's go." Dada said, leading the way, I focused on creeping behind him through the maze of tunnels towards what looked like daylight, occasionally knocking people out of the way with satisfying clangs.

I blinked a little as we neared the mouth of the cave, and saw Yinsen lying, bleeding on sacks of grain. "Yinsen!" I said, stumbling over to get to him. My dad came over.

"Yinsen, come on we have to go. You have to see your family!" I said

He smiled "My family are dead."

"This is not part of the plan!" My dad said

"It was always part of the plan. I will see my family now. Do not waste your lives!" He warned us in a last breath. I could feel my eyes burning with tears, "Come on, we have to get out of here!" I said, we breached the mouth of the cave, my eyes adjusted to the light before I began being pelted with bullets. Then they ran out of amo, so I took my arms from around my head protectively, and put them back by my sides, "My turn." Dad said, letting loose the flame throwers, burning everything. "Hold on." He said, I grabbed him piggy back style as the ignited the jet packs just as the whole base exploded beneath us, I shrieked and shrieked before the jetpacks suddenly stopped when we were about 70 feet in the air, and we began falling, then I just plain wailed like a banshee as the ground came up to meet me faster than I'd like.

We hit the hot sand with a thump, and bits of metal flew everywhere, I was buried up to my waist in sand, dad seemed to be lying in a pit of it. "Oh God." Dad groaned

"Did we really just do that?" I asked, staring into the blinding white hot sun

"I think so. Are you ok?"

"What's the criteria for ok? Mentally, I think I'll recover, physically I think I broke my foot. Or my leg. It's hard to tell, how about you?" I asked, ignoring the pain in my right foot.

"Right arm feels a little broken. Mentally I think I'm good."

"Well, now what?"

"We walk."

"To _where?"_ I asked, we were in the middle of a desert, from what I could see

"A burger king." He rose from the sand and ripped the jacket in two, he helped me up and looked at my foot, which was ugly, angry ,red and swollen. "Here, put this on." He said, and I followed him in wrapping it round our heads to keep the sun and sand out. I walked a few steps gingerly, put he carried me across the dunes, before he had to put me down, a hobbled but heard the familiar hum of helicopter blades. "Oh my God!" I shouted, and waved at the two helicopters, as did my dad, we hugged and smiled, we were saved. It was over.

The choppers landed and soldiers got out, the first to reach us was none other than Rhodey. "Rhodey!" I screamed, as he ran up and enveloped us both in a huge hug. "Next time, you're riding with me." He said, we were helped onto the chopper and taken back to the base.

…..

Back at the base, I showered somewhat awkwardly, changed into fresh clothes and pulled my hair up into a shiny dark brown ponytail, then I was patched up by one of the doctors, a cast on my foot, broken fingers strapped together, cuts stitched and band aids put on. Soon as possible we were put on a jet, not a cushy private Stark Industries one, but a military air carrier. We landed back in America in just four hours, me in a wheelchair because of my foot, my dad with a sling on his arm holding the back of the chair, in a fresh suit, he looked like the old, reliable asshole Tony Stark. "Dad, you know, I can't do this anymore. I can't know that we're making things that kill people, that get to those types of people." I said; as the door at the end of the plane folded down to make a ramp. "I know, we won't" he said

I stood up, the first thing I saw was Pepper. My dad helped me hobble down to her "Pepper!" I yelled, and I hugged her. Dad joined us. "I see your eyes are a little red, crying over the loss of your beloved boss?"

"Tears of joy, I hate job hunting."

"Uh huh. Vacations over." He said, we got into the car, driven by Hinders .

"Were too sir?" Hinders asked

"The hospital please…"

"No!" Me and my dad cut Pepper off

"Tony, Lara, the army said you had too…"

"No, we don't have to do anything. We have been in captivity for three months…" he argued over Pepper telling us how we had to be looked over by a doctor with blah blah blah.

"There are two things I want to do. I want an American cheeseburger and…"

"That's enough of that"

"No, it's not what you think. I want to call for a press conference."

"A press conference, what for?"

"Call for one. Hinders, drive. Cheeseburger first." Dad finalized, Pepper got out her blackberry.

…..

We got six cheeseburgers and devoured two each within five minutes, Pepper commented on how I needed to put on weight since I'd been skinny to begin with, but with after three months of near starvation, things weren't looking too good. "Yeah, you are looking rather twiggy." Dad said. As we pulled into Stark Enterprises' main HQ, we were applauded, and Obadiah was there to open our door, and present us to the suits waiting for us, I felt underdressed in my dark denim short shorts and while Ralph Lauren Polo shirt and vans.

I waved alongside my dad, but we both grabbed another cheeseburger each.

We entered the conference area too more TV screens, and more people, Obadiah pushed me away so that I nearly fell off my cast, which had a sole on it so I didn't need crutches. I stood next to Potts, if my dad needed me up there, he'd ask. I pulled off bits of my cheeseburger. "Miss Stark, can I talk with you for a minute?" A kind faced man in a suit asked

"Lara is not part of the press conference but it's about to begin shortly." Pepper intervened with her arm around my shoulders.

"I'm not a reporter; I'm Agent Phil Coulson with the Strategic Homeland Intervention Enforcement and Logistics Division."

"Long name." I commented

"We're working on it." He smiled, I grinned back

"We've been approached already by the DoD, the FBI, and The CIA." Pepper told him

"We have?" I murmured to myself

"We're more of an organization with a specific focus, we need to debrief both Starks about the circumstances of their escape."

"I'll put something in the book, shall I?" Pepper said

"Thank you." He smiled and walked away.

"Pepper, make sure you do. I want to talk to them. With or without Dad." I said, thinking about the name and realising it spelled out SHIELD. "As you wish."

"Lara, get up here." Dad shouted, I hobbled forward and sat down at the edge of the platform, he sat down next to me and we split another cheeseburger. "Can everyone just sit down please? That way we can see you, you can see us. Makes it a little less formal." He asked, everyone obliged, of course, even Obadiah, though I glared at him as he did.

"I saw young Americans, like my daughter, killed by the very weapons we made to protect them. I saw that I had become part of a system that was happy with zero percent accountability." He said, after telling them about how he never got to say goodbye to his father, Howard, and ask him about Stark, I would've interjected and said I never said goodbye to my Mom, but she wasn't a genius technology inventor.

"Mr Stark, Miss Stark." The reporters asked us to take questions. My dad took one

"What was it like over there?" A man asked

"I had, _we _had our eyes opened, I believe we have more to offer this world than just making things that blow up. And that is why, effective immediately I am shutting down the weapons manufacturing department of Stark enterprises." He said, standing up. The reporters stood up and swarmed, shouting for questions, I watched Obadiah's face carefully. It twisted in rage.

Me and dad were taken away from the stage and out of the room, Obadiah took the mic. I turned round "What we should take from this is that Tony and Lara are back!" he said. That is _so_ not what they should've taken from it.

I went straight home, but we dropped off Dad at the ARC reactor. I went straight down the workshop. "JARVIS, we got work to do." I called to the computer

"Right away Ma'am."

"Open a new project file. Keep it on the Stark private server." I said.

I got JARVIS to help me redesign my escape suit, in 3D with all the stuff I was used to having, I could move things around, change positions, materials, and colour, anything just by the touch of my fingers. I binned almost everything from my original design apart from the simplest structure.

"JARVIS, do you remember the material, the metallic alloy that was like, strong yet flexible?" I asked the computer

"The liquid Iron, ma'am?"

"Yeah, that, that's what it's going to be made out off, get me some, would you?" I asked

I maximised my design so it was almost life size. I remembered the sample of the liquid iron we had, it was a thick, durable material but it was bulletproof, fire proof and once set into a shape, it was like pure iron, i designed this to go with my suit, I wanted it to be more like my dads, but without the bulk.

The design was a cat suit with a retractable mask that melted away as command, it had fully metallic robotic gloves and thigh high boots, complete with jetpacks and missiles, a chest plate that I designed in mind of being strong , yet feminine. It had curves with hidden rockets and flame throwers, it was perfect. "JARVIS, send this to Tony." I said

"Yes ma'am."

I had missed graduation, and all the designing had taken a week. I went over to my dad's corner of the room. "Wow, finally she shows life." He said as I approached. I looked at the model of his suit. "Looking good, I just emailed you mine." I said, I looked at the ARC reactor "You made a new one?" i asked

"Yeah, I need to take a look at your old dinosaur. You need an upgrade, badly." He said, he had one of his robotic handmaidens bring around a table for me to lie face down on while he poked around my back. "JARVIS, do we have any anasthetics?" Dad asked

"What for?! Please don't play doctor on me, please for the love of all that's holy…"

"Don't be a drama queen, I have the perfect solution, now just relax."

Whatever anaesthetic dad gave me, made me completely numb and drowsy, when I woke up, I felt…different. When I first woke up after the attack, I couldn't move properly or stay upright, but now I felt like I could do a million backflips and walk three hundred miles in a heartbeat, I felt strong, like a superhero. "What did you do?" I asked

"I made you this." Dad throws me the plans he made with JARVIS across the room, the cyberpicture hovers in front of me. It looks like the ARC reactor with a casing of metal, but long and spinal cord shaped. "Cool." I said, spinning it around and zooming in and out with my fingers, before throwing it away. "Should we start building?" I asked

"I thought you'd never ask."

…..

I stood behind the camera, recording the first flight test.

"Starting off nice and easy with ten percent thrust capacity." Dad said, the robots rolled backwards and got fire safety equipment out, I zoomed out, the motors in the boots and hand held units revved up, and Dad flew back and hit the wall, then fell. I nearly died laughing as a robot sprayed fire extinguisher all over him. "That was not funny." He said, from somewhere behind the smashed up furniture. I helped clear the stuff we broke up, then we went back to JARVIS and re evaluated everything, and built more.

….

A few days later, Pepper came down to see us. "I've been buzzing you, didn't you hear the intercom?" she asked, carrying two boxed and two cups of coffee.

I pulled off my Calvin Klein rectangular glasses and put down the flight stabilizer cyberplan, flattening it too 2D. My dad had already built his, and was testing it out.

"Nah, we didn't hear." I said

"I thought you were done making weapons?" she asked, looking at the arm piece my dad had on, admittedly it did look like a weapon. "We are" i shrugged "That's a flight stabilizer."

"It's completely harmless." My dad said, he put the setting too high and shooting backwards.

Pepper shrieked "Completely harmless." I said.

"Obadiah's upstairs." She said, collecting herself

"Ok, great, we'll be right up." Dad shouted from down the room. Pepper left, and I helped my dad up. "I didn't expect that." He said, taking off the flight stabilizer and the rest of the arm.

"Dad, I don't trust Obadiah, and I know he knew grandpa and stuff, but, I just don't. I know we've taken a lot of heat for this, but just, believe me, don't trust him with everything." I said, before walking up the stairs. I could hear very sad piano music. "How did it go?" I asked, no one answered, Obadiah just kept on playing, there was a pizza box on the coffee table, from Ray's, my favourite pizza place in New York, Obadiah had obviously brought it back from the board meeting.

"That bad, huh?" Dad asked from up the stairs behind me.

"Just because I brought pizza back from New York doesn't mean it went bad." Obadiah said

"Uh huh." Dad said, and we both took a slice.

"Would've gone better if you were there." He said

"You told me to keep a low profile, this was me keeping a low profile." Dad stuffed pizza in his mouth

"I meant in public, the _press_, this was a board of directors meeting!" Obadiah says, coming over to grab some pizza, or talk to us more, great. "This was a _board of directors _meeting?" Dad asked in mock disbelief, "Boy we _gotta_ start going to those things." I said, rolling my eyes.

"The board is blaming your post traumatic stress, they're filing an injunction against both of you." Obadiah said, wait, what? I can bet you my bank account, which is _a lot_, that I do not, in any way, PTS. Nope, does not exist in this cranium. "A _what?"_ Dad asked

"they wanna lock you out."

"Is this because the stocks deflated, because we knew that would happen. Forty points isn't _that_ bad." I said, commenting on Stark Industries stock places at the moment, I kept a careful watch on them since my seventeenth birthday, and now that I was eighteen, I legally inherited twenty percent of the company, my dad had forty percent and last time I checked Obadiah had ten or something, he'd been after more, but so far the investors held steady.

"It was fifty six points actually." Pepper interjected, so not helping.

"_IT DOESN'T MATTER. WE OWN THE CONTROLLING INTEREST IN THE COMPANY." _Dad said really loudly. "Tony…the board has rights too." Obadiah said

Screw the board! I wanted to yell, but I kept a lid on it. "They're making the case that you and Lara and your new direction isn't in the company's best interests."

"We're being responsible, and that's a new direction for, well, us." I said, shrugging. Keeping a tight lid on the rage that was about to explode.

I picked up the pizza box and walked away "I'll be in the shop." I said, heading back down the stairs, praying Dad would follow.

He did, and Obadiah followed us. "I'm trying to turn this around, but you gotta give me something to pitch to them. Let them analyze one of you, your heart and your spine, let them see that the ARC wasn't a dead end."

"Absolutely not, these stay with us. That's it, Obi." Dad said, Obadiah snatched the pizza box from me "Well this stays with me then." He said "Here come on take a piece." He said, we took a piece each and went back down to the shop.

…..Two weeks later…..

I had my full and completed suit on, and I was watching my dad be drilled into his, we had the thrust capacity down, and right now we were uploading JARVIS too our helmets. "JARVIS, are you there?" I asked, the built in screen inside my helmet lit up. "Calibrate the virtual environment and upload all data." I gave the command and watch the screen come alive, I looked at the orange Lamborghini, and it's model and engine size came up, everything I looked at, information suddenly filled the screen about it, in true terminator style. "Uploading armour information and commands." JARVIS said, as a tiny model of my suit appeared in the left hand corner with all the actions that could be taken, missile rockets, flame throwers, bombs , bullets, guns the list was endless, and it wasn't for offense, it was for defence.

"You ready to go dad?" I asked, we had a radio inside the helmets, so we could communicate with each other and JARVIS at all times. "It seems I am indeed fully uploaded." JARVIS said.

"Calibrate a flight path and keep an eye on air traffic control." Dad commanded

"But sir, we are indeed many tests away from making an actual flight." JARVIS said, I groaned. JARVIS was like a parent to both of us; the responsible computer was such a killjoy.

"Sometimes you have to run before you can walk." Dad said, before his thrusters came on, I turned mine on and was soon shooting up out of the curved ramp and shooting into the night sky, I whooped and cheered along with my dad as we flew through the air, looking at Malibu spread out before us, I had never felt more alive, like I was really in control in this suit. My dad flew round the huge lit up Ferris wheel, and we zoomed in on a little boy who dropped his ice cream when he saw us. I giggled "Dad, this is truly amazing." I said, turning summersaults and twirling through the air, my suit was made from cloth, and the only fully metal parts where my torso, lower arms, lower legs and head, which was encased in the same helmet as my dads, not very pretty, but useful and pretty scary. "JARVIS, what's the highest ever travelled by a non-space aircraft?" dad asked

"eight thousand feet, sir."

"Records were made to be broken." Dad said, before shooting up into the air, I followed but hovered and watched. "Dad, you're insane, the ice build up will short out the suit." I said, but he ignored me, or he had been cut off, I watched until he was barely bigger than a thumbnail, before his suit shorted out and he began to fall. "Dad?! Dad?!" I called, but there was no reply, the light was out in his eyes, showing the suit to be unresponsive "You have to break the ice!" I yelled, and as he began to pick up speed and plummet back to earth, the ice fell away , and the light came back on. "You crazy bastard!" I whoop, as he flies again. We swoop and soar back to the roof of our mansion. "Power off JARVIS." I said, and land with a thunk in a catlike crouch. My dad tries to do the same but crashed through the roof, bringing me with him, crash landing on top of the piano, then through to the shop, crushing an old vintage blue roadster. I winced, as I took off my suit to reveal the black wetsuit I wore underneath, because, well…chaffing. "That was unreal." I said


	4. Chapter 4

**Thankyou so much for the kind reviews and messages, it means so much.**

**By the way, have I mentioned this story is Movieverse?**

**Marina xo**

We spent the rest of the night unscrewing Dad from his suit, which took all three robots and me armed with screw drivers "We gotta make this thing easier somehow." I said

"Well I'm sorry we can't all pull off liquid iron catsuits."

"Don't be bitchy, you don't have the ass for it." I said, pulling out the last piece of circuit. JARVIS and the robots put it back together for storage.

"What do you mean I don't have the ass for it, I totally do." He said, walking away from the platform "Anyway, I'm not sure I want my daughter to 'have the ass' for it." He raised his eyebrows

I raised an eyebrow "I'm eighteen years old, and you've been flinging women round like beanbags my whole life, I think you can handle some liquid iron." I smirked

"Yeah, Ok, but if I see _one_ guy…"

"You're getting protective? Wow, they should kidnap us more often."

"Of course I'm protective, you're my daughter."

"Huh. You never would have guessed until now." I said

"What do you mean? I've been a great father." He said, I tried to work out whether he was joking, or actually believed he had been.

"Whatever, could you pass me an icepack? I think I pulled something in my arm." I said, he threw me one

"See? Great father." He said, I just laughed. "Hey, what's this?" he asked, there were two parcels wrapped in brown paper on the worktop. One said "To Tony, from Pepper" the other "To Lara, from Pepper."

"Open it." I said, dad opened it and it was his old ARC heart electromagnet in a glass box, it had been circled in silver metal and 'proof that Tony Stark has a heart.' Had been engraved on it

I laughed, "Don't laugh, I wonder what yours says." Dad said

Mine was longer, it was the same but the spinal piece with 'Proof that Lara Stark has a backbone.'

I grinned, it was true. I had a backbone, and I intended to use it.

…

Dad was working on some upgrades with JARVIS, I was staring blankly at the outline of my suit on a screen, one headphone plugged into my iPod. All I heard was "The Stark's annual ball for the fire fighters families' foundation." I took my earphone out to look at the TV on the wall, dad was staring at it.

"Dad, why aren't we there. We didn't even get invited…" I said in a small voice

"Some claim the Starks are both suffering from post traumatic stress, and that Lara had been bedridden for weeks pending a spinal injury" the reporter went on. I felt tears sting my eyes, it was such an insult to everything.

"Whatever the case may be, no one expects them here tonight."

I bit my lip and looked at dad. He turned back to the computer screen, where he was picking paintjobs for our suits. His was so far all gold. "A little ostentatious don't you think?" he asked JARVIS

"Of course sir, what was I thinking, you're usually so subtle."

"Throw a little hot rod red in there." Dad said, the suit looked better red and gold.

"Because that will help you blend in" JARVIS said sarcastically

"I like it, go ahead, fabricate it. What about yours, Lara?" he asked, bringing up the blue print to my suit. "Keep the liquid iron in the graphite colour, then the armour baby pink, the same as my Porsche." I said

It looked awesome "Nice choice, Ma'am." JARVIS said, and began fabricating it.

"Right, we have a social gathering we need to attend, can you be ready in fifteen minutes?"

"For you Daddy, anything." I winked and ran up too my room. I threw open the doors to my huge walk in closet, opened the drawers of makeup, shoes and accessories, at turned on the spotlights over the clothes racks. I found a backless emerald satin dress, gold Jimmy Choo stilettos, and matching gold clutch bag and earrings. I smoothed my hair into a big high bun, it looked sleek and sophisticated, I put on my photography make up, specially made to show up well on camera, I outlined my eyes and made them look huge and deep dark chocolate, adding false eyelashes immediately made me feel happy, and a sheer lipgloss didn't take anything away from the dramatic dark eye look. I added a bit of bronzer to add to the tan I got in Afghanistan, the sun was blazing so the few moments I spent in it were enough. I turned round to check out the new, glowing white ARC reactor going the length of my back.

It looked dramatic, and powerful, I felt like a terminator. I grabbed a gold shawl in case Dad didn't think it was a good idea to show it off, the gold chandelier earrings made my neck looked long. I hoped Brody was here tonight, he would definitely fall for me.

I ran back down stairs, wobbling in my heels, my dad was fastening his bow tie.

"Wow." He said

"Wow" I said

"Which car would you like to take?" he asked

"Stark 4." I said, which was a silver Audi TT, me and my dad owned several cars each plus the collectibles, and they all had personalized number plates, we didn't mess around when it came to transport.

We zoomed and weaved through cars until we got to the Disney Music hall, where the event was always held. The red carpet was still buzzing with paparazzi and reporters. I took a deep breath. "Let's show the world Lara Stark has a backbone." My dad said, taking the shawl off me.

We got out of the car, handed the keys to valet and began to walk the red carpet, girl shrieked for my dad, which always happened and always made me cringe. There were gasps as people saw my back, but I smirked, I looked awesome and I was like the bionic woman. Cameras flashed, people asked for autographs "Do you remember me, Tony?" A big boobed blonde asked

"Sure don't" Dad didn't even bother to look. We said a short hello to Hugh Heffner and carried on walking, the shrieks continued. Obadiah was giving an interview, but turned to see us. His face set, I gripped my dad's arm. We walked up to him. "What's the world coming to, when we have to crash our own party?" Dad asked, smiling.

Obi smiled in a creepy way. "Well look at you both."

"We'll see you inside." I said, and led my dad inside, but he stopped us before we could get to the doors. Camera lights continued to flash around us. "Hey, take it slow. I have the board right where we want them." He said, by way of telling us there was a reason we weren't supposed to be there

"Yeah, sure it's just cabin fever; we'll only be a minute." Dad said

"I told you he was a creepy ass mother." I hissed as soon as we were out of ear shot.

"Yeah, I'm starting to get that."

"Wow really after 14 years of me hating him, you're only just getting why?"

"Yup. But it's coming on really fast."

We got inside and I immediately spotted Brody. "I'll just be a sec." I said

"I'll be at the bar." He said, I went over to him.

"Hey Brody." I smiled, he turned round

"Lara! They said you weren't coming! I've missed you so much!" he cried, giving me a hug. He smelt like Hollister. "I missed you too; I thought I'd surprise everyone." I laughed

"Oh My God, it's so amazing to see you! You look amazing" He said

"I know, I'm back and mostly in one piece!" I said

"I gotta go find my Mom, but I'll find you later for a dance, ok?"

"Yeah, I gotta go find my dad before he gets in trouble." I said, leaving him behind, my dad was at the bar talking to some guy. Wait, that was the agent from, what was it? The department with the really long name?

"Agent Coulson." I said, smiling brightly

"Miss Stark, good to see you."

"You too. I've been meaning to get Pepper to give you a call to set up a meeting, but I've been so busy!" I apologised

"It's ok, me and Mr Stark were just about to set one up. How about August 24th, 7pm at Stark industries?"

"That would be great, we'll be there." I smiled, he walked away, my dad was staring at something across the room. "Dad, what are you…? Oh. Wow, she didn't say it was _that_ amazing." I said, looking at Pepper. Conservative, smart, neat pepper, in a backless long flowing deep blue metallic dress. I knew she'd bought it as a gift from my dad. "Go and ask her to dance." I said. I snatched the glass from his hands and gave him a small shove. He walked over. I smiled wryly and took a sip, wincing as the alcohol burnt my throat, I hoped they didn't card at this place.

I watched them dance for a while, before they slipped outside. I totally thought this was it, they were finally going to get it together. I slipped over the dance floor and peaked out of the glass door at the balcony, they talked, but I couldn't hear them. Pepper stepped closer, and closer. I crossed my fingers on both hands, my heart hammered, I pleaded with them, _please, come one, kiss, please kiss please_. They were there! They were kissing, they were…Nope. Almost. "Damn." I cursed under my breath. So close, and yet so far.

"Dad what are you doing?!" I demanded as my dad walked back inside.

"Me? Nothing, getting a drink. What are _you_ doing, lurking around? Shouldn't you be off making out with that surfer or something?" I followed him

"You should've kissed her!"

"Kissed who?"

"Kissed _Pepper_ you idiot! It was the perfect moment. And he isn't a surfer. Well, he does surf but that's beside the point"

"I'd like two martinis please. One extra dry, extra olives, extra…fast." He shoved some money into the tip glass. "I can't believe you, you think you're some huge playboy when you can't even make a move on the one woman who can totally…"

"Please stop talking."

"No! Dad come on, you totally had it in the bag there! You two are perfect for each other."

"Well well, The Starks. Fancy seeing you two here." A girl's voice said, she walked to stand next to us at the bar, she had big boobs, blonde hair in an up do, and a slightly ill fitting black dress. I remembered her vaguely from somewhere.

My dad stalled for a while, trying to remember her name "Kirsty…."

"Chrissie. You have a lot of nerve showing up here tonight. Both of you." She looked at us condescendingly. I raised an eyebrow. Excuse me, but was it just me being confused that this is a _Stark_ industries ball, and here we were, Tony and Lara _Stark_. Hmm, coincidence, I think not.

I pulled a wincing face, looking up to see dad doing the same. Everyone was right; we are clones of each other. "Can I at least get a reaction from you?" she asked us, I think I remember her being a reporter. "Panic." Dad said

"Yeah, definitely panic." I agreed.

"See, I was referring to your company's involvement in this latest atrocity."

"Yeah, see, they just put our names on the invitation, I don't know what to tell you." I said.

"I actually almost bought it, hook line and sinker." The reporter, Chrissie said

"See, we were out of town for a few months, so we need to catch up here…" Dad said, unsure to what in hell this woman was talking about. "Is this what you call _accountability?!"_ she asked angrily, she handed us a photo. "It's a town called Gulmera, heard of it?" when we didn't reply, she shook her head in disgust.

There were not one, but four photographs, dad flipped through them as I looked, two showed a half demolished village, dead animals and planks of wood and stone littered the ground. The third one showed men unloaded very familiar looking green boxes, the fourth showed a close up of the box. It was Stark Industries. "When were these taken?" I asked

"Yesterday."

"Well I can assure you we didn't approve any shipment…"I started, but she cut me off

"Well your company did."

"Well we are _not_ the company." I snatched the photographs and walked away, dad followed me

"Where are you going?" he asked, walking beside me briskly

"I'm going to find Obadiah."

"You think he's doing this?"

"Who else has the power to do this? Who else has your trust? Dad, I'm eighteen. That means I'm officially an adult, and it means I get a say in what happens now. It's my company too." I went back down the red carpeted steps, were Obi was still talking with the press. He pushed a camera away as he saw us "Let me handle this." Dad whispered.

"No." I said, walking up to Obi "Have you seen these pictures?!" I demanded, he pulled me further away from the paparazzi "Lara, Tony, you can't afford to be this naive."

"Naïve?! I was naive before, when you both told me this is the line, we don't cross it, and this is how we do business!" I promised myself I would be strong, but there was the little prick of tears forming, this was my _company_, my _name,_ my _family_. "Listen, if we're double dealing under the table,_ are_ we double dealing?" Dad asked, Obi looked at us both in the eye and turned "Come on, let's take a picture. Picture time everybody!"

That's when it hurt the most to be a Stark I thought. Right then, when everything you thought was true was showing the cracks and the ceiling was caving in and there was nothing you could do about it, because you had to smile and look like everything was happy in Starkland when it really wasn't. So I placed myself in the middle of Obadiah and my Dad, we put our arms round each other and smiled big , fake smiles, when Obadiah whispered "Who do you think locked you out? I filed the injunctions against you, it was the only way I could protect you both." I took a deep breath.

"Hey, Lara, you ready for that dance?" Brody asked from behind me.

"I can't I'm sorry. I have to leave." I said woodenly. I marched down the steps, and got the car keys from the valet.

I drove us home. As we parked up, I hit the steering wheel with every shouted word "This is not happening!"

"It is happening." My dad got out of the car. I got out and slammed the front door behind me. We went straight down into the shop, and turned on the TV to the BBC.

"The fifteen mile hike to the outskirts of Gulmira can only be described as a descent into a hell, a modern day heart of darkness. Simple farmers have been driven from their homes in peaceful villages." The reporter said

My dad was in front of the TV, screwing on a metal arm. I let my dress fall to the floor and stepped quickly into the thin black all in one, ready to put on my armour. My eyes snapped back to the TV as it showed footage of the gunfire. "As you can see, the Ten Rings are heavily armed and on a mission, a mission that could prove fatal to anyone who gets in their way."

"With no political will or international pressure, there's little hope for these refugees." I put on the gunmetal layer of my suit, freshly painted. I would need the robots to bolt the armoured chest, arm, hand and leg plates on. Dad was currently being drilled into his fully armoured suit. It went without saying that we were going to Gulmira. When he was ready, it was my turn. The helmet enclosed my face and head, JARVIS was uploaded. He sensed the mood because he didn't talk.

….

We were there by the following morning, I couldn't appreciate the fact that we had just flown, as in, by ourselves across the world because of what we were here to do.

We both landed in a crouch before standing up. There were poor men lined up against the wall about to be shot, while women and children were cowering near trucks, clearly about to be loaded onto them, some already were. Men with huge Stark guns were around, men I vaguely remembered from my three months in captivity.

One tried to shoot at us, dad blasted him out of the way, as the others tried to shoot, I used my hand explosives to shoot at them, blowing them up, as I turned to face the ones near the women and children, they used them as human shields. Dad put his hands down, if he even thought about trying the explosions on them, he'd kill the innocents.

_JARVIS, enable tagging._ I commanded, white target circles appeared, I looked at each attacker and locked on their faces, then _JARVIS, fire the shoulder bullets please._

Every attacker fell dead, freeing the women and children.

Thermal vision showed a man cowering behind the wall. Dad saw this and punched through the wall, showing the leader of the ten rings. I glared at him, not that he could see my face through the mask. "Leave him too them." I said

"He's all yours."Dad said, throwing him to the floor. We shot up into the air.

A huge force seemed to try and shake me out of the sky, but it was a huge missile that had got my dad instead "Dad!" I yelled, and flew down to see him unearth himself from a crater in the ground; I ducked as another missile flew inches above my head. Dad used a forearm rocket to blow the whole tank up along with the Jericho missile and a few others, Then we finally flew away, quickly.

The phone rang "Answer it." I said

"No, _you_ answer it." He fired back

"Dad it's probably for you anyway."

"Fine, hello?"

"Tony?" Rhodes voice said on the phone. Damn, we'd been caught

"Who's this?" Dad asked in mock confusion

"It's Rhodes."

"Sorry, speak up please."

"I said it's Rhodes. What the hell is that noise?"

"Sorry, I'm driving with the top down."

"Yeah, well I need your help right now, Lara's too, is she there?"

"Huh, it's really funny how that works isn't it." Dad said, I rolled my eyes

"Yeah, speaking of funny we've got a weapons depot that's just been blown a few miles from where you were held captive."

"Huh, looks like someone stepped in and did your job for you." I said

They argued for a few seconds about where we were, on our way to jog in the Grand Canyon apparently

"Are you sure you don't have any tech in that area we don't know about?" Rhodes asked

"Yep, none at all." I confirmed

"Good, because I'm staring at two now and they're about to be blown to kingdom come." Rhodes said when two planes appeared behind us.

I tried to shake the one tailing me but it was going nowhere. "Let's go supersonic!" I yelled, as JARVIS increased the thrust capacity and I shot forward so fast my head nearly came off.

I didn't see where dad went, and I didn't dare try and contact him in case he was still on the phone to Rhodes and I blew everything. When the whiplash, the high speed military plane tailing me, locked on and fired a missile at me, I suddenly powered off and dropped a few hundred feet where the missile couldn't follow, then I got back up to the right altitude, and I found dad was flying right next to me, both birds behind us "This isn't really going to plan." I said

"Nope." He agreed as they opened fire on us. "Deploy flaps!" Dad yelled, and both of our suits' are flaps sprung open, hoisting us backwards, confusing the planes. "Call Rhodes." I said

"Hi Rhodey, it's me."

"I'm sorry, who?"

"What you're asking about, is me…and Lara"

"See, this is not a game. You do not send civilian equipment into my active war zone." Rhodes demanded "Oh, crap, is that was this is?" I asked, smiling behind my mask

The planes gained on us again. "Ok, it's not pieces of equipment, it's me and Lara, we're in the suits!" he yelled, the planes were gaining on us. I dropped lower as Dad grabbed on to the bottom of the plane. The plane moved side to side, shaking him off, sending him crashing onto the other plane's wing, smashing it off. The plane went down but the pilot ejected his seat, but there was no chute.

Only about a thousand feet from the ground, there was still no chute. I shot down after him, faster and faster till I could reach forward and rip the chute out, it fluttered out, and the pilot was safe, I flew away, turning spirals in the air "Hey, Rhodes." I said, connecting back into the call.

"You Starks are crazy sons of bitches." Rhodes said quietly, dad laughed

"Why thankyou." I said

"You owe me a plane, you know that?" Rhodes said, I looked down at the flaming pieces of metal that had once been a whiplash on the ground hundreds of feet below me

"Well, you know, technically he hit me so…" Dad said

"So are you going to come over and see what we've been working on?" I asked, flying up next to dad. "No no no no no….now what am I supposed to tell the press?" Rhodes sounded stressed

"Training exercise, isn't that the usual BS?" I asked

"It's not that simple!" Rhodey sighed.

….

"An unfortunate training exercise involving an F22 Raptor occurred yesterday. I am pleased to report the pilot was not injured…."

…

"Just hold still! Honestly you're such a baby!" I exclaimed, as the robots tried to both repair and remove the suit from my dad. Mine had been easier, around ten minutes of poking and a near miss with a drill and then I was done, but dad squirmed and wriggled and it was not going well. "Sir, the more you struggle the more this is going to hurt." JARVIS said

"Yeah, c'mon dad it's not that bad!" I said, Pepper came to stand next to me, I stared at her, staring at my dad, who looked around, before saying "Let's face it, this is not the worst thing you've caught me doing."

"Are those _bullet holes?"_ she asked, I looked at the visible bullet holes in dad's suit, and mine which was in a glass case.

…..

A few days later, I spent the day at the beach with Brody. It was kind of a date, but kind of not. And it was a good day, he taught me how to surf and I pretended to suck even though I can actually surf pretty well, we got burgers on the pier and I felt warm and happy and nothing mattered. As I walked from the beach up through the hills to the house, I had an uneasy feeling in my stomach, I felt guilty for going out with Brody and enjoying myself knowing everything was wrong. I was locked out of my company, they were selling weapons under the table in my name, Obadiah Stane was not on our side, and nobody seemed to be able to help us. I opened the front door and heard slightly raised voices down in the work shop. My flip flops slapped against the floor as I raced down there, I couldn't really make out what they were saying. I was still wearing my plain black bikini and cotton running shorts and my hair was damp and wavy from the salt and sun as I burst into the workshop "You are going to kill yourself, Tony and your daughter. And I'm not going to be a part of it." Pepper said, starting to walk away, she wouldn't meet my eye as I stared in confusion.

"I shouldn't be alive, and Lara should be paralysed from the neck down, unless it was for a reason. I'm not crazy, Pepper, I just finally know what I have to do." Dad said quietly.

"_We_ know what we have to do." I seconded, I knew this argument was coming

"Because I know, in my heart, that it's the right thing." I slid my eyes over to my dad, because that was possibly the most honest thing he'd ever said.

….

We waited all day for Pepper, I changed out of my beach stuff into a long comfortable oversized cream t shirt dress that had elastic at the waist but I couldn't feel the benefits of its comfortableness, I was way to agitated waiting for a call from her, she was going to my Dad's office in the Stark Headquarters in the city to hack the files that would tell us Obadiah's plans, and how to stop him. I was jumpy and couldn't sit still, neither could dad. "What is taking so long?" I asked, jumping up from a different seat, as it started to get dark, now it was late august it was getting dark earlier.

"I don't know, she'll be fine." I paced the room, before leaving to go to the bathroom, as soon as I turned down the long, cream carpeted landing to get to the nearest bathroom, Obadiah stood in my way. My mouth fell open and he grinned and then I realised how much he looked like a serial killer.


	5. Chapter 5

Second to last chapter of the first book, 1000% sure there _will be a sequel. and whatever the one after the sequel is called._

Make of this chapter what you will, no disrespect was meant, also I'm not priding myself on the geography of New York City, but I just had the idea and I thought I'd try, because it seemed like something a real writer would've come up with.

x

...

The first thought in my head was to turn and run back to the door, my heel burned in the carpet as I turned and reached for the door handle, but my fingers missed the chrome minimalist metal by millimetres, and as a high pitched, barely audible bleep filled my ears, my whole body became paralysed as I fell to the floor, smashing my face into the carpet. I recognized the device as an old Stark weapon that never got government approval, it never got off the production line and all prototypes had to be destroyed, so how had Obadiah gotten one?

He stepped close to me, but it was all I could do to try and move my head to the side so I could at least see him as he killed me. "You know, if you'd of just _died_ in Afghanistan, my life would be a whole lot easier. You see, I ordered the hit on you and your daddy, and my instructions were for _you _to die first. I mean, you could've at least had the manners to let yourself become bedridden, or at least in a wheelchair, then I could push you down some stairs and the little problem of Tony Stark's insignificant socialite daughter would be taken care of, but no, you couldn't just let it go."

Tears stung my eyes. I'd taken criticism before. Tabloids, teachers, even dad once or twice, but this wasn't my dad's form of criticism, cutting comments said with his winning smirk, or a teacher's wayward 'I don't give a crap who your daddy is', or even a 'Lara Stark sports a fuller figure, but is it her best look?' type tabloid headline. This was cold and hard and it meant something. It was half true. I was a Stark, but I'd spent my whole life trying to live up to it, being as flamboyant as possible to make up for the fact that sure, I was smart and could draw up a few handy blue prints, but I wasn't my dad or my grandfather. I made a muffled 'euff' sound

"But while we're here, it seems ridiculous for me not to take a little parting gift, Lara." I couldn't feel his hands but I could hear the click and release sound of the ARC reactor being removed. And the worst thing was, when he walked through that door with my spine in his hands, probably going to kill my Dad, I couldn't even struggle. I was lying here on the floor, dying and there was nothing I could do.

Or was there?

A table was just next to me, complete with a silk table cloth. If memory served, there was a landline phone connected to JARVIS in a holster on top. If I could just move my arm a tiny bit, I could grab the hanging fabric and pull, and maybe have just enough time before I was completely paralysed to dial Pepper, or Happy Hogan, or Rhodes or anyone. If anything was certain, it was that I had to do it fast. The paralysis from the Stark weapon was wearing off, I wasn't exposed to it for that long, but the paralysis from the lack of exoskeleton type mechanics meant that I could feel from my feet slowly travelling up through my legs the scary numbness of permanent paralysis.

There was a thump in the next room. Dad. I could hear Obadiah talking to him, maybe he knew that I could, maybe he didn't. "Easy, easy. You remember this one, right? It's a shame the government didn't approve it. There are so many applications for causing short-term paralysis. Tony…" My arm inched towards the draping silk; it was like trying to lift all the goodie bags from New York fashion week in one little finger, impossible and painful. My arm felt like it was made out of lead. "When I ordered the hit on you, I worried that I was killing the golden geese. But, you see, it was just fate that you both survived that. You had one last golden egg to give." The golden eggs where the ARC reactors. Why? Pepper would know from the files. I didn't. So Obi was going to kill us for an ARC reactor. Why? He ordered the hit on us, why? "Do you really think that just because you have an idea, it belongs to you?" Obi's voice had reached a low, scary grumble. What did he mean? An idea? Did he mean our idea for the suits? Then it hit me like the Barbie pink Bentley I got for Christmas three years ago. He was making his own suit, but he obviously didn't have the technology. How? Was he paying people at Stark to do it for him? I hoped not, it was the highest form of betrayal. "Your father, he helped give us the atomic bomb. Now, what kind of world would it be today if he was as selfish as you two are being?" the rusty metallic taste of blood was in my mouth, and I wonder whether it's reflux from the shrapnel being allowed to run wild around my body without me, well, my _spine._ Which Obadiah Stane now has? With great effort on my part, I manage to turn my head the other way to face the frosted door. I can't make out much, A tall shadow which can only be Obadiah, I suppose my dad's trying to sass him out of it. Obadiah's figure moves, and like a shadow puppet, he holds something up to the sky. It isn't my back piece, it's small and circular. "Oh, It's beautiful." He said. And then I just want to be sick all over again because he's killing my dad. He's _killing_ my freaking _Daddy._ I seem to be renewed with a new rage. He will not kill my dad, the only person I can definitely be sure I can trust in the world, make me a crippled orphan and _get away with our technology._ No way, not happening. "Tony, these are your Ninth Symphonies." He said, his silhouette now holds both ARC reactors. "What masterpieces. Look at them. A matching pair." The sick twisted sound of joy in his voice makes me was to stab myself in the ear with a screwdriver. "These are your legacies." He says, grandly. "A new generation of weapons with this at its heart." He holds up the small round thing. Not for the first time today, I wish that this wasn't the only door in the house that wasn't made of glass. My tiny pinkie finger caught hold of the table cloth, it was now or never. "Weapons that will help steer the world back on course, put the balance of power in our hands. The right hands." And it was with a sharp intake of breath, and my right hand, that I pulled the table cloth downwards sharply, but not only did I manage to get the phone to tumbled two feet in front of me, I also managed to pull down a huge, heavy glass vase of flowers on top of me, a smash sounded. I held my breath. Hopefully, Obadiah would think it was my dying act of rebellion, he wouldn't expect me to last this long. There was a tense pause "I wish you could've seen my prototype." I let out the breath I'd been holding. Now I needed to get to that phone, and fast. It was with renewed vengeance that I shook off the stems of the pink flowers, and dragged myself through broken glass, I was inches from the phone when I couldn't do it anymore. A large gash had opened in my side, a shard of glass was lodged in it, and the cream carpet was tinged a dark red, like someone had spilt red wine, I knew that in my current situation, blood loss was not going to help matters, and it was all I could do to try and focus on a picture frame that had also fallen down from the table. It took my eyes a while to focus in on the picture, but once I saw it, I couldn't unsee it, if you know what I mean. _I think I was around ten or eleven; we were in New York, me and Dad having always divided our time between New York and L.A. And by we, I meant me, dad and Pepper. It was September, early in the morning. Dad was supposed to be at some big meeting in the world trade centre, something about the Stark Expos. I'd gotten up early, like 7 AM, and begged him to take me to the statue of liberty, "At this time? Be serious Lara." He'd groaned, Pepper had shrugged, and said she'd take me right now, but I'd stomped my foot and demanded to be taken to the green lady by both Pepper and Tony right that second, so we bundled into a cab on that crisp autumn day, and we'd sailed right past those two towers and on to the statue without a care in the world. Pepper had made us pose for a picture, all together, right before we went up the statue._ _This was the photo. Pepper was wearing dark boot cut jeans and boots, a nice white blouse, fitted navy mac, hair in loose waves. Dad was in dark jeans, dark knit button down and black jacket, I was wearing light blue skinny jeans, red converse tied with white satin ribbons instead of laces (an early venture into the world of creative fashion) and a navy quilted Barbour jacket, hair in a high, long dark ponytail. I was in the middle. We were smiling huge smiles, I was holding each of their hands, and we looked like a real family._ _And then, the first plane crashed. _ I pulled myself out of the memory, knowing somewhere that reminiscing was going to pull me in and paralyse me faster, I had to reach the phone. My tunic was now wet with my own blood, the phone was millimetres from my hand. With one last breath that I hoped wasn't my final one, my fingers curled around the phone.


	6. Chapter 6

"JARVIS." I choked out, trying to whisper and not bleed to death was multitasking not even I could complete perfectly, and I'm a Stark so I'm not much short of perfect. But there's only a buzzing sound, so that means Obi is three steps ahead of me by powering off JARVIS, or just cutting the phone lines. Or would he have completely over looked something as old fashioned as calling someone with all of the Stark technology surrounding us?

I tried Pepper's number, and it was engaged. I hope she way on the phone to someone important who could possibly save us.

I tried Brody's number. Ok, so maybe involving my new boyfriend in this crazy mess was not my finest plan, but it was the only one I had right now.

"Hello?"

"Brody thank God listen I need you to come over right now." I said in one breath, as a door was closed somewhere in the house. "Right now? Why?" he asked. I rolled my eyes.

"Because I'm lying on the floor dying and Obadiah Stane has gone completely insane and I need you to save my life."

Any other boy would've said I was insane, and hung up. But Brody simply said "I'm on my way." And hung up.

My heart hurt a little bit, because I think I love him.

And then it stopped hurting when there was staggering footsteps and a shape loomed at the door, it flung open and my dad grabbed onto the doorframe for support. His face was covered with sweat and he was the palest white I'd ever known a human could be, and he had strange red circles around his eyes and blood coming from his ear and a gaping wound in his chest.

Even in that moment, I chose to lighten it a little with some humour. "Fancy meeting you here." I said. He just jerked his head and staggered to the end of the hall, where there was an elevator down to the workshop and garage. It was one Pepper liked to use to sneak up on us when we disabled the main one and pushed stuff in front of the stairs.

…Brody…..

I pulled up the Stark's long driveway in front of the crescent shaped glass and chrome mansion hanging on to the cliff overlooking the sea, as friend of both the Starks and my family, James Rhodes pulled up. "Did Lara call you?" He said, rushing up the steps with me behind him.

"Yeah, she said something crazy like Obadiah had gone mad and tried to kill her and Mr Stark." I said, explaining as much as I knew.

"It's true. He's gone insane and come to finish what he started." Rhodes said, entering the house.

"What do you mean finish what he started?!" I asked, heart pounding and afraid Lara was dead already. "He ordered the hit on them in Afghanistan, to try and kill them, but now he wants their ARC reactors." Rhodes explained.

"Oh my God. You check over there for Tony, I'll go over here for Lara." I said, already running in the opposite direction. Up the stairs to the main living room. "Lara?! Lara?!" I yelled

I heard a croak and a shuffle behind a frosted door, I ran over and it was ajar by maybe five centimetres.

I don't think I was quite prepared for what I saw when I stepped from the hard wood floor to the plush cream carpeted landing. For one, Lara was lying very still, she was very pale and there was blood everywhere around her, seeming to be coming from a scary dark stain on her side. I could see handprints of blood and drag marks from where she'd dragged herself forward. There was glass everywhere, along with pink flowers and spilled water, a smashed photo and a landline phone that had fallen from her hands.

There was a big hole the length of her back which was supposed to be covered up by that metal spine that was so mysterious, and she looked very disgruntled. I had to bite back a laugh when I saw her sulky expression. "Don't just stand there looking pretty, get me down to the goddamn _workshop_ before I'm paralysed forever." She snapped

"Ok, I got you."

"Ow, Jesus Christ that hurts." She shrieked as I picked her up and ran with her to the elevator, and punched the button labelled workshop.

…Lara…..

We burst through the doors, to find dad now with his old reactor in place. I located mine and ordered Brody to smash in the glass and put it in and power it up.

I immediately regained the feeling and movement in my legs through they still looked a terrible shade of white. The slash in my side however was a brilliant dark red.

"Where's Pepper?" Dad asked Rhodes in a weary gasp. Brody found a first aid kit and was trying to patch me up as he placed me on a worktop "Hello! Number one priority almost dead daughter over here! Ask how I am!" I yelled over at him, feeling a little woozy.

"I can _see_ how you are, bitchy as usual. Now tell me where Pepper is!"

"She's fine, she with agents and Phil Coulson, they're about to arrest Obadiah." Rhodes said

"Yeah because _that_ will be enough. I said, shaking off Brody, jumping from the counter and turning on my dad.

"Pick a number between one and five." I said. He grinned.

"Four." He replied

"Good choice." I said, grabbing the keys to a white Audi with rhinestone wing mirrors, Stark 4.

Then I stopped on the way to the car. "I have a better idea." I said, turning to the glass case on the wall that held my suit, next to dads.

….

The robots drilled us into suits as Rhodes and Brody watched in awe. "Whoa." Brody said, standing next to Rhodes. "That's the coolest thing I've ever seen." Rhodes said

"Not bad, huh?" Dad said. I tried to keep silent because I knew that if I didn't keep my teeth firmly pressed together, I would gasp out in pain and then dad would make me go to the hospital, and we could never explain this, because at the moment my brain was fifteen minutes ahead of everyone else's.

Obadiah and Pepper and hopefully some agents, Phil Coulson came to mind, were at the ARC reactor's base, Stark's L.A head offices. We needed to get there, get rid of Obi, stop whatever his super creepy plan was, and then explain away the damage.

"Let's do this." Dad said, and blasted the car he crushed, what seemed like months ago, out of his way. I followed him and prepared the flight stabilizers. "You need me to do anything else?" Rhodes asked, Brody just looked very…amazed. Good.

"Keep the skies clear." Dad said, and then we were in the night sky, flying across Malibu as quick as we dared, which if you knew us at all by now, was fast.

…..Brody…..

Lara and her dad just punched a hole through the ceiling of their impressive garage/workshop/man cave, or Tony and Lara cave.

Rhodes and I looked though the hole at the Malibu summer night sky, and at the two beams of light shooting across it. Rhodes noticed an all silver suit, probably in the process of being finished. "Next time, baby."

"What do you say we take a car and head over to Stark?" I asked, holding up the keys to one of Mr Stark's Audi's.

….Lara…..

I heard dad through JARVIS. "How do you think the forty eight mark pieces are going to hold up?"

"Your suit is at forty eight percent power, Lara's and forty five, sir. They were never designed for sustained flight."

I didn't dare reply, I wasn't yet a master at hiding pain and I knew my dad would be able to tell if there was something wrong. He knew I was hurt, but he didn't know how badly. I could practically feel the heat of the blood swelling inside the suit. I ignored the falling power, and dad told JARVIS to keep us posted about the power supply, and just concentrated on reading the screen and praying we got to the reactor in time to stop Obi.

Then a new icon appeared, I braved it and spoke up "I'm in range of Pepper's ear piece!" I said in one breath.

"I'm connecting too it now." He said, I heard a faint beep and then "Pepper!"

"Tony! Are you ok? Obadiah, he's built a suit, a big suit and he's…"

"Pepper, we know. We're on our was, you need to get out of there right now"

There was a great rumble, then static, mechanical whirring and Pepper screaming. Just as we rounded the corner, I saw the suit, and it was huge, dark grey and menacing, I shot at it before it could shoot at us, but then it didn't matter because it shot back anyway. Dad tackled it to the floor, but he kind of misjudged how heavy it was going to be, because as I threw myself into the mix, me skidded out into the road and landed rough "Ok, that hurt." I muttered, scrambling to get up, the ugly grey Obi suit had picked up a car, and was intending to throw it at us, there was a screaming family inside. "I love this suit!" He screamed, his voice a loud growl, oddly metallic.

"Put them down!" I said, getting to my feet faster than dad.

"Bring power to chest rocket." I told Jarvis, this would drain me but I'll be damned if those kids and their Mom died because of me. I blew Obi away and caught the car. My eyes watered as the pressure of the car was not totally supported by the suit, and I could still feel my side bleeding, the cut was too deep for the skin too start scabbing I think.

"Suit power down to nineteen percent." JARVIS reminded me.

"Hey dad, a little help here?" I asked, still holding the car, he rolled over on the floor and flew after Obi. I rolled my eyes, great.

I slowly lowered the car to the ground, the woman floored the gas with me still on the bonnet, I screamed, they screamed, the car screamed as I held on for dear life, until I started to lose my grip, and I was flung under the car, sparks flew from metal on road,and I let go and spun on to the road, there was no time to start bitching about anything, and I flew over to where chaos was literally ebing defined, cars were smashed, people were panicking and running all over the road, and Obi had his giant ugly metal foot on top of dad, shouting something angrily at him, I started to kick and punch but he swatted me away like a fly.

I flew back in for more, aware of the power bar slowly decreasing. He picked up both up in his giant hands and threw us at a bus, we smashed right into it, and then he blew it up with a rocket. We were thrown around fifty feet into the air in a flume of fire, the searing hot flam threatened to melt the liquid iron, and fry everything else.

First thing I was doing when I got home was making this thing fire retardant.

As we fell to earth, we turned back on the flight stabilizers and jet packs so we hovered above him. The hearing in the suit was failing, Obi was shouting but I couldn't hear a word., and then he was hovering too, and our chances of beating him fell further into the range of a snowball's chance in hell.

And then it hit me. That first flight, dad tried something incredibly stupid, trying to go too hight, he iced up, fell. We fixed the icing problem around a week after that, so Obi may not know.

"Dad?" I whispered

"Yeah?"

"I have a plan. We get up as high as we can, Obi's suit will ice. He'll fall." I said

"Let's do it. And Lara, don't try and hide the fact you're hurt worse than just a scratch."

"Wha? Oh, I'll be fine. I'll take some aspirin, get a new bandage. JARVIS, take us to maximum altitude." I commanded

"Miss Stark, with only fourteen percent power…"

"I know the math, just do it!" I cut him off and we both shot into the sky. Obi followed, everything went according to plan.

"So, you and Brody a thing now?" Dad asked

"Really dad? You're going to ask me this right now?"

"Yes, as your father it is my duty to be informed of any possible…"

"Shut up and fly."

….Brody….

We never ended up getting to Stark towers, instead we went to Rhodes' base, where the alarms were sounding and on the screen I saw Lara and her dad in their suits, being chased by a crude, huge copy. They were going higher and higher, the guys there were talking about scrambling the jets and all this other scary stuff until Rhodes jumped in and cut the call, "That won't be necessary, it's just a training exercise." He said, and everyone heard him and stopped, we watched on the screens.

…Lara…

We got higher and higher, and our power got lower and lower.

"Thirteen percent power, miss."

"Keep going!" I urged

"Eleven percent power."

"Fly!" I urged again, Obi was still following.

"Seven percent power."

"Just put it on the damn screen and stop telling me." I snapped, I felt the power flicker.

"We are going to make it." I said, more to me than dad.

Dad got higher than me as my suit lost power quicker, his was still seven, mine was now four.

Obi grabbed hold of my leg, I didn't make a sound "I hate to break it too you Lara, but my suit is more advanced in every way." He growled, I saw the ice build up around the sides of his suit, and knew it wouldn't be long until it froze the power supply and he fell like the heap of junk he was. Hopefully not dragging me with him.

He had one of his huge metal hand around my waist, uncomfortable pressure against the gaping wound that happened to still be bleeding. "Oh yeah, how'd you solve the icing problem?" I asked

"Icing problem?!"

"Might want to look into it." I said, freeing a hand and knocking him away, tumbling down to earth

"Nice one." Dad said, I saw the circle of light in his chest flicker.

"Two percent. We are now running both suits on emergency backup power."

"Crap." I said, as the suit cut out almost entirely and we both started to fall as well.

"Woah." Dad yelled as we fell.

The jets and flight stabilizers sputtered and started and stopped on the way down, allowing us to kind of land, kind of skid onto the roof of the ARC reactor's building.

"Let's not do the whole backup power thing again." I said

"Deal. How're you holding up?" There was a note of something in my dad's voice

I looked down to see the dark grey was now stained dark brown on one side. "You know, now I think about it, I'm a little…dizzy." I said, falling to my knees.

"It's ok, we'll get you out of the suit, Pepper will take care of you…"

"No, I have to fight…"

"No, you have to _live"_

"Potts." He said

"Tony!" she cried "Are you alright?!"

"We're almost out of power. Lara's hurt, I have to get her out of this thing."

I wasn't really listening anymore; I was trying to work out if I was seeing stars literally or figuratively. Both, I think. Dad pulled the mask off, as the whole building shook, Obi landed behind. "Nice try." He said, I looked away and focused on staying conscious long enough to somehow climb off the roof and get to Pepper, so we could figure out a plan.

I got to a metal ladder, fire escape. I half climbed, half slid down it, it landed just in front of the main building, just as Pepper ran up. "Lara! Are you ok?"

"No, help me get this thing off!" I said, and we tug and pull until I'm standing in the glory of the now crumpled, blood stained cream tunic that I put on when I got back from the beach, I still have the bikini on underneath as well, I put everything on in such a rush I didn't have time for anti chaffing measures. "Oh! You're bleeding! What happened?" she asked

"we don't have time, we have to come up with a plan."

"Tony said we have to over ride the ARC reactor…"

"It'll fry everything on the roof!" I cried, and we climbed through the smashed glass doors, me barefoot but I barely felt anything.

We pulled switches down like my dad had told Pepper to do, I tried not to collapse again, and the reactor was ready to blow. "Dad, it's ready, get off the roof!" I cried up to him, he was on the glass roof directly over the reactor.

Obi shot some more, smashing the roof, me and Pepper both screamed and ducked as yet more smashed glass rained on us.

After this, if I never see another glass item again, I won't care. I've had enough to last me a lifetime.

Dad was now hanging through the roof; I could see his iron legs waving frantically. "Dad, it's ready!"

"Hit the button" he called back

"But you'll die!"

"Hit it!"

I took a deep breath and punched the button as dad let go and fell through the roof, I ducked for cover as the ARC reactor basically exploded, Obi fell into it, I saw him in his giant suit of metal, and a huge pillar of blinding light was sent up right into the sky, and then it disappeared and half the city blacked out.

I got up and ran, half the building was blown out, I ran clutching my side to where my dad lay motionless on the ground.

…

"You have all received the official statement of what went on at Stark Industries last night, there have been unconfirmed reports that a robotic prototype malfunctioned and caused damage to the ARC reactor…"

The TV on the wall showed Rhoades speaking to the press. Dad was in a clean suit, with his hair slicked back and Pepper covering bruises and cuts on his face from last night's escapades, he was reading a collection of papers, one proudly bearing the headline 'Who are Iron man and Iron Girl?' with blurry photos of, well, us. In the suits.

"You know, it has quite a nice ring to it, no necessarily accurate because my suit is gold…"

"Well they'll just have to come up with a new name for you, gold man." I smirked. Phil Coulson got a doctor from his team to stitch me up privately, no medical records, no documentation, no proof. I applied my makeup myself and dressed in a black dress made of jersey, it came to mid thigh with ¾ sleeves and a round neck, my hair was in loose curls, make up was natural, shoes were plain black Louboutins, and a black Chanel blazer with nude lining. I sat next to Brody, also wearing a suit as we waited to lie to the whole world about last night. Lying about where we were, who Iron Man and Iron Girl where, and what they where, and about Obadiah, everything.

It felt uneasy, like we would get found out because our cover story, made up by Phil Coulson, was flimsy. And I didn't _want_ to lie. I risked my life to save practically the whole world, or at least Malibu, but still. And yeah, sue me if I wanted to take credit. I'm a Stark, it's in my DNA.

I relayed this all to Brody, he nodded sympathetically. It was safe to say we were pretty much a couple now, after last night. He saved me, he was hot, he liked me and thought I was awesome. Match made in heaven.

"Here's your cover story." Phil handed us blue cards.

"You were on your yacht, we have port papers that put you in Avalon all night and sworn statements from fifty of your guests."

"See I was thinking maybe it could just be Pepper and me, alone."

"Gee thanks dad." I rolled my eyes

"You two could be in, I don't know, Disneyland or some place."

"Ass."

"That's what happened. Just read it word for word." Phil commanded

"Yeah sure." I said

"What about Stane?" Dad asked, Obadiah was dead, but we couldn't say that just yet apparently

"He's been handled. He's on vacation. Small aircrafts have such poor safety records." Ohil explained

"Awesome." Brody said, he was on a kick about being and Agent at the moment, I stuck by me theory he should stay a pretty rich athlete.

"So the whole cover story is they're our bodyguards?" Dad asked, flicking through the cards that explained who Iron Man and Iron Girl where.

"Kinda flimsy don't you think?" I asked

"This isn't my first rodeo Miss Stark, just stick with what's on the card." Me and dad exchanged a look, "yeah, sure." I replied mechanically, ready through the cards one last time.

"Just give them your sworn statements and this will all be behind you. You've got…ninety seconds."

Dad put on his suit jacket, I fixed my hair and stood up, the cuts on my feet from the smashed glass squealed in protest, my side was numb from pain killers which I was totally going to need more of.

Phil left, said a few words to Pepper, looked at me, and he was gone.

"Right, let's get this show on the road."

"I don't think it's that bad, me being iron man and Lara being liquid catsuit slut." I threw my blue cards at his head.

"You're not iron man." Pepper said

"I am." She helped him into his jacket

"No, you're not. You're not iron girl or whatever either, so don't get any ideas." She looked at me sternly

"Yeah, I'm not saving you again." Brody laughed and took my hand

"Face it, you're dating a superhero. I'm going to be saving _you_ from now on." I laughed and allowed my cheek to be kissed.

"You know if I were Iron Man, I'd have this girlfriend who knew my true identity, and she'd be a wreck, always worried I'd die to save a crowd…" Dad trailed off

"She'd of course be so conflicted, which would make her, you know, more crazy about me. Tell me what you think about that"

"I think you're getting too creative with your pickup lines." I said

But I turned away to Brody to give them some Tony and Pepper time. At last there was progress on the whole I'm in love with you issue.

"And now Mr and Miss Stark have prepared a statement they'd like to present you all. They will not be taking any questions, thank you."

I took a breath as we walked out onto the stage. I barely blinked as the cameras flash, I'm used to it but talking in front of them is still a shaky business for me, so Dad's doing most of the talking, but I have a feeling he's got a surprise up his sleeve, and whatever it is, I'm jumping in on it.

"Thankyou. There has been speculation that me and my daughter were present in the events that occurred on the freeway and the rooftop…"

"I'm sorry Mr Stark, but do you honestly expect us to believe that they were two body guards in a suit that conveniently appeared despite the fact that…" It was the reporter. The annoying blond one that nobody could remember the name of. Christie or kirsty or something.

I boiled with rage at the fact we were here trying to lie for hers…and ok maybe our… benefit and she was interrupting. I pushed over a little to the mic.

"I know that it's confusing…it is one thing to question the _official_ story, but another thing entirely to make wild accusations, or insinuate that me and my father are superheroes."

"I never said that you were superheroes."

Damn. There goes my chance to be a superhero. "Oh, well didn't you…Well good because that would be outlandish, and uh" I took a breath "Fantastic."

"Because we're just not the hero type, you know, clearly with the long list of character defects, all the mistakes we've made…" I was trying to dig us out of a hole by throwing us back into another one with a Stark nametag on it. Damn I should've never got to the mic.

Rhodes pushed the blue cover up story card into my hands. "The truth is…" I read the words but they didn't come out "I am Iron Girl." I said. There were gasps, shrieks, shouts, camera flashes

"And I am Iron Man." Dad stepped forward "That's my girl." He whispered, I grinned.


End file.
